Protector
by InkMeYouVillian
Summary: A request from Hills-to-Sky. She's also a great author and you should check out her fics! This is a short about her OC and Twist. Kept it PG because I wasn't sure what she wanted. Also, sorry if I got a bit OOC, but I tried my best! Now a multi-shot!
1. Chapter 1

"Kaiya, are you okay?" Twist ran over to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, popping her shoulder back into place with a grunt. She wasn't exactly sure what happened; all she remembered was Eli shooting some stupid slug that shorted out her mecha when she was at top speed, hurtling her forward shoulder first into a huge rock.

"That bruise doesn't look good." He frowned, his hand ghosting over the huge bruise that had already formed on her arm.

"I'll be fine!" She growled. Didn't the idiot remember she used to be a healer? "Let's just finish the mission and maybe give the Shane Gang some pay-back for what they just did."

"No, we can worry about the mission later. We need to get you back to the citadel."

"Damn it Twist! I'll be fine." Kaiya yelled at her friend and comrade as she struggled to get up. She felt like she had beaten up the entire side of her body. There were probably bruises all the way down to her ankle. But she refused to show any weakness. Suddenly she fell forward, only to be caught by Twist's strong arms.

"I've already called for transport back, you need to rest."

"No, we're doing the mission!" Kaiya continued to argue.

"How?!" Twist finally yelled back, "Our mechas are still out of power!"

"We'll walk." Kaiya growled, trying to struggle out of Twist's arms, cursing when she hit the bruised side of her body against his arm.

"No, we won't," Twist stated, the tone in his voice signifying the finality of the argument. He pulled her into her lap and stroked her hair. Kaiya didn't try to fight it, but let him as the throbbing of her head faded into blackness.

"It's good to see you're awake."

Kaiya blinked groggily, her throat oddly dry. She looked around, finding herself lying in her bedroom with Twist standing above her. She tried to think back to how she got here, squeezing her eyes shut when her head began to pound unbearably.

"You've been out for a few hours; you're still going to feel pretty badly for a while according to the nurses. They want you to take the next week off."

"Can't afford to; besides I can take care of myself." Kaiya gritted out.

"Blakk understands your condition. He sent someone else to take care of the mission; you don't need to worry about anything."

"I need to-"

"You need to rest." Twist cut her off, placing a finger to her lips.

Kaiya opened her eyes to glare at Twist. He looked pretty beat up himself, he had small cuts all over his face and arms.

"You should get those looked at." She tried to turn the situation on to him.

"I already did." He retorted. Kaiya just glared at him again.

"Here, the nurse said you should take these." Twist handed her two white pills. "They're some sort of pain killer."

Kaiya continued to glower, but accepted the pills and a bottle of water.

"They'll make you drowsy, but you could use the sleep."

"I'm fine." Kaiya continued to argue, trying to sit up. Twist pushed her back down, his form hovering over her.

"Kaiya, if I have to watch you twenty four-seven until you get better, I will. Your health means a lot to me, and I want you to get better."

Kaiya gulped, his face was barely inches away from hers, she could see the determined look in his eyes, and she could feel his breath tickle her face. She tried to glare at him, but her resolve was quickly diminishing, so she averted her eyes to the corner of her room where her happy dog was sleeping soundly.

"Kaiya, don't ignore me."

"I never said I was." Kaiya muttered.

"I mean what I said though; your health and safety mean a lot to me." He had moved so he was lying next to her, facing her and stroking a strand of hair out of her face.

Kaiya gulped again. He was not making this easy on her. She hadn't fully figured out her feelings for this guy but he was so close, and being so gentle- a side of him she rarely saw- she couldn't do anything but give in.

"Okay." She relented, closing her eyes again.

"Thank you." She could hear the smile in his voice and felt him gingerly lift her up so she was resting on his chest. Her heart was fluttering wildly and did nothing to help her headache. She grimaced and Twist soothed her, stroking his hand through her hair again. It apparently had a hypnotic effect and suddenly she felt herself drifting off. The last thing she remembered was a feather light kiss on her forehead and the whispered words of: "I love you Kaiya…"


	2. Chapter 2

Kaiya groggily opened her eyes; her headache cutting off any hopes of more sleep. She tried to move, startled, when she was blocked by an arm across her stomach. She rolled her eyes when she remembered Twist insisting on staying. Slowly she moved to look at him. He was sleeping soundly, a small smile gracing his battered features. He probably needed some more antiseptic on a prominent cut on his cheek that was a bit more inflamed than the rest. Kaiya tried to move again, cursing when the entire left side of her body protested. How hard had she hit the rock? Gritting her teeth, she struggled out of bed, taking special care to not wake Twist. She limped her way over to the long mirror she had propped against a wall, biting her lip so she wouldn't make any noise. Slowly, she pulled off her top and dropped her shorts to examine the damage.

The bruise was really hideous. It was an array of nasty colors and stretched all the way down to her calf. It looked the worst at her shoulder and her hip. She could even see the outline of her ribcage surrounded by the purple and green mess of burst veins and damaged muscles. She frowned. Surely she had something in her workshop that would help the bruise heal faster so she could get back to business. Maybe an herbal remedy or some ice pack. She took a step towards the direction of the garage not realizing how weak she already was from standing the few minutes she had. Her leg gave out underneath her and she fell to the ground, letting out a string of curse words as the pain in her left side escalated again. Jet perked up her ears and whined.

"I'm fine girl; just keep it down, kay?"

"Kaiya?"

_Shit. Too late._

"Kaiya, what the hell are you doing?"

"I was just going to get some stuff for my bruise and something for that nasty cut on your face." She growled, hoping Twist would just let her go.

"Get back in bed." His voice was commanding in a way Kaiya had never heard before, but that didn't mean she was going to listen.

"I have stuff in my garage, just let me-"

"No."

"Damnit Twist, I'm fine."

"Kaiya, geez," Twist was sitting next to her, handing back her clothes. Kaiya put them on, blushing slightly, but her face was also contorted in pain as she tried to move her arm and leg to get dressed again.

"Kaiya, for once would you just let someone else take care of you?" Twist reprimanded her as he scooped her up and carried her back to bed.

"I can take care of myself!" Kaiya argued back, trying to struggle out of Twist's hold, cursing at her pain.

"Not right now you can't," Twist's firm voice made Kaiya roll her eyes as he laid back down on the bed with her still in her arms. He reached for the bottle of pills and Kaiya's water. She pushed the pain killers away, but took the water draining it quickly, unaware of how thirsty she had been.

"Kaiya, could you for once stop being so stubborn?"

"You're still on that? I'm just fine." Kaiya grumbled.

"No, you're not. You can't even walk! The nurses think you bruised bones. Do you know how difficult that is to do?! Do you know how long that takes to heal?! Weeks, multiple! Not just one day!" Twist sounded exasperated and frazzled. Kaiya had never heard him sound so vulnerable. She looked up at him, blinking in surprise when she saw so much emotion expressed on his face. "They're talking about concussions. Those can take months to heal." His hand moved to cradle her head for emphasis. "Kaiya, you're not invincible. And this isn't the first time you've done this. You mean a lot to this corporation, but even more to me. Don't you get that? It kills me to see you banged up like this. I need you Kaiya, you're my air, my light, my joy in this damned place. Don't you get that? And what about Nicole, and Jet, what would they do without you?" Kaiya was starting to feel the guilt in her chest, but she wouldn't admit it. "Kaiya, please, I don't know why you keep doing these stupid things, but you mean so much to me, and I need you to stop getting so hurt like this. Kaiya I-" Twist broke off his rant, realizing he had said too much. He looked away, embarrassment beginning to show in his face with the rest of the emotions he had let through.

"I-I don't know…" Kaiya trailed off. "I don't have a lot to live for here you know…" She could see the brokenness in Twist's face. But she still didn't know how she felt for him. She leaned her head into his chest, bringing a hand up to rub her throbbing temple. "I just… Want to do what has to be done, no matter what it takes." She looked up at Twist again. He was still looking away. "Twist…" She trailed off again, feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes. She blinked a few times, trying to hold herself together.

"Kaiya, I know you don't feel the same way, but I really do care about you." He was still looking away, but he had begun to rub his thumb in circles on her cheek.

"Not now Twist." Kaiya finally caved. "I can't have this conversation right now." She felt tired and weak, and no matter how hard she struggled to hide it, she knew she was at the end of her rope right now.

"I understand. I'll go get you some more water and some food, okay?"

Kaiya nodded, her headache preventing her from doing anything else. She felt Twist place a light kiss on her forehead; she did nothing to swat it away, nor encourage more. She just let out a pained groan. This was going to be a long recovery.


	3. Chapter 3

Twist glared at Eli. The fool had no damned idea what he owed him. And he was going to take it from him here and now. He loaded Loki in his blaster, but before he got the chance to take aim, a mega-morph Rammstone hit him square in the chest, sending him into the wall of the small cave he and Eli were fighting in; triggering a rock slide above him. The last thing he saw was what he thought was a hint of remorse in Eli's face. But no, Shanes were incapable of that feeling. He knew first hand.

Kaiya paused in her relentless attack of the rest of the Shane Gang, Black Skies' heavy paw pausing above a terrified Cave Troll. The rumbling sound made the Shane Gang look towards the direction of the sound as well. Suddenly Eli emerged from the mouth of the cave where he had chased Twist into, motioning at his gang to head out. Kaiya was milliseconds away from following them when she realized, Twist had not come out with Eli. She rushed with Black Skies into the cave her eyes widening with fear as she saw the gigantic pile of rocks that must have fallen in the fight and Twist's blaster a few feet from the debris.

"No, Skies! We have to save him!" She yelled aloud, maneuvering her mecha's heavy paws to lift the larger rocks, hopefully without hurting the body that was buried in them.

She leaped down from her mecha as soon as she recognized his hand bent in the wrong direction sticking from the rocks. She dug at the rest of the rocks with her hands, terror and adrenaline pushing her on until she lifted Twist's limp body from the wreckage.

Her lip was quivering and she was fighting back tears she didn't know she had for Twist. Gently she placed him on her mecha and sped back to the citadel as quickly as she could.

"Get him a medic immediately!" She barked to various guards who began scurrying every which way to comply with her orders. She begrudgingly let them take Twist from her and watched them carry his marred and mangled body to the infirmary.

"He'll be okay." Nicole put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He is extremely valuable to Blakk, and he'll do everything he can for Twist, and more."

"I hope so." Kaiya tried to sound powerful, but seeing her one of best friends so close to death rattled her in a way she wasn't prepared to deal with. Wiping her face on her sleeve, she headed off to the infirmary, mumbling something to Nicole about how; "I can take care of him better than all of those bumbling idiots combined."

However, Kaiya was not prepared to see Twist hooked up to all those wires and machines just to keep him breathing. There were casts all over his body, and what wasn't covered in plaster was bruised and cut up to the point where he was barely recognizable. She wiped the tears from his face, hoping no one would notice.

If only Blakk hadn't ghouled their only Boon Doc. She was without a doubt going to kill the Shane Gang the next time she got if Twist didn't pull through. She blinked, a bit surprised at herself. So this was what having a vendetta was like. She wasn't sure if she liked the fact that she had a grudge against the Shane Gang now, but she knew she'd do anything for Twist.

She walked over and perched herself on the side of the bed, gingerly stroking Twist's face, letting the tears fall freely now. The nurses didn't bother to make her move when she fell asleep, curled up in the tiny space next to Twist.


	4. Chapter 4

Twist woke up in excruciating pain. He let out a loud groan, struggling to open his eyes. He felt hazy as if he was underwater or something.

"It's nice to see you come to." An old nurse toddled over to him. "Blakk was very worried about you; you've been out for almost a week now."

"W-where's Kaiya? Is she okay?" He managed to get out. His vision was blurry and restricted. He guessed both his eyes were swollen and bruised.

"Oh she's fine, she spent almost the entire week by your side you know, but Blakk sent her out on a mission about an hour ago. We'll let her know you've woken up as soon as she gets back."

Twist just let out another pained groan. "Damned Shane…"

"Now, you'll be feeling a bit out of it for a while," the nurse went on, "but we don't want to put you on a smaller dose of pain killers." The nurse tapped on one of the IV's in his wrist. "We can probably remove the other two though now that you're awake. Do you think you'll be able to eat on your own?"

"Y-yeah." Twist managed to croak. "But I'd really love some water."

"Of course dear, I'll go get you some right now." The nurse smiled as she pulled out the needles that had been sustaining him for the past week. Twist winced and the old lady gave him an apologetic smile as she put a strip of gauze over where the needles had been. Just from looking at it, Twist knew there would be more bruises there to add to his array.

"Twist!" Kaiya exclaimed as she ran towards his bed, startling the teen out of his dozing. She rushed over to him, placing her arms around him in a gentle hug. "Oh thank goodness, I thought we had lost you!"

"Kaiya, are you crying?"

Kaiya looked up suddenly, quickly turning her face away to wipe away the tears.

"It's nice to know you care." He jested, trying to move a thickly casted arm to pull her closer into him.

"Shut up you idiot. You had everyone worried."

"As long as you were the one who cared the most." He slurred, the pain killer keeping him from being fully coherent.

"Have they not taken the dosage down yet?" Kaiya noticed, leaning over to check the IV bag.

"Nah, still in pain though."

"Really? Didn't they give you a topical or a different medicine if this one isn't working well enough?" Kaiya's hands were suddenly fluttering all over the place as if there was something that nearby that would help Twist feel better. "At least some ice or softer pillows or…"

"Kaiya, Kaiya, darling, I'm fine."

Kaiya sat back down on the edge of the bed blushing.

"Did you really spend the entire week here?"

Kaiya's blush deepened.

"It's sweet, don't be embarrassed. I appreciate it, really." He tried to smile at her, but he wasn't exactly sure what his face did, and he was pretty sure it looked hideous. Kaiya didn't seem to mind though; she just smiled back at him.

"Look at you," she gingerly touched his battered face. "Why would you run off doing stupid things on your own?" She sighed.

"You're one to talk."

"That doesn't count."

"Does too," Twist said seriously.

Kaiya just rolled her eyes brushed a tangled piece of hair out of Twist's face. He tried to smile again, and from the small chuckle Kaiya gave, he knew it looked hideous.

"I'm glad you're okay." She smiled again.

Twist wanted to just reach out and stroke her face and comfort her, to play with her hair like she liked- even if she wouldn't admit it. He wanted to smile at her- for real. He wanted to do so much to show he appreciated how much she cared. However, his range of motion was extremely limited, so he went with the one thing he could do, tell her how much he appreciated her.

"I love you."

Kaiya froze for a moment, startled. "You know, we really should look at changing your IV drip…" She said, leaning over him again to look at the bag.

"No, I'm serious, Kaiya, you know I am."

Kaiya looked down at him, wide-eyed and blushing furiously. She knew he was; it wasn't the first time she'd heard him say those words. It wasn't even the second time. She had heard him say those words almost a hundred times when he thought she couldn't hear him. She just never wanted to admit that she was starting to fall for him too. This was the first time he had openly admitted it to her, whether it was really because of the IV or not.

Her face melted into a gentle smile as she moved to snuggle with him. "You too," was all she could bring herself to say despite how much time she had to think about it in the past week, but from the little spike on the heart-rate monitor, she could tell it was enough for Twist.


End file.
